This invention relates to electromagnetic relays of the type wherein a contact space is completely enclosed in a base structure. More particularly, the invention relates to this type of relay wherein two flat pole plates are secured in a single plane in the base structure with their free ends separate and facing each other. A flat contact armature is typically accomodated on a resilient armature support in the contact space and bridges the free ends of the pole plates when the relay is excited.
A multiple contact for a relay of this type is disclosed in German patent document OS No. 2 059 390. This relay has a two-piece base structure. Several pairs of pole plates surrounded by glass frit are accomodated in one plane in one component of the housing. Associated with each pair of pole plates is an armature that is connected to one pole plate by a restoring spring. The multiple contact disclosed in that document, however, is hardly a complete relay because, for example, it lacks a coil winding and because the contact housing is not designed to accomodate a winding directly. Furthermore, the extensions of the contact elements project out of the face of the housing in the form of mutually opposing flux-conducting strips. When employed in a relay, consequently, they must first be additionally equipped with contacts. The disclosed device is therefore just a conventional reed-contact system, and any relay employing it would be less than optimal from the aspects of both size and cost. Since in addition the armature is directly connected to one of the pole plates, the potential applications for a switch of this type are limited, and conventional reed contacts of the type are, in particular, generally unsuitable for disconnecting or disrupting higher outputs.